Editor's note: This story was originally published in the Belleville News-Democrat.
It was Round Two Thursday between U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois and Rep. Matt Gaetz in the dispute over who should be the Speaker of the House.
In January, Bost, a Republican who represents the 12th District including parts of the metro-east in southwestern Illinois, stood up and yelled at Gaetz when the Republican from Florida was giving a speech saying Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, should not be the speaker.
This wasn’t the first time Bost had stood up and yelled during a meeting of lawmakers. Back when he was a state representative, Bost tossed a bunch of papers and ranted about the power held by then-Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan.
In the U.S. House, McCarthy eventually won the speaker’s post in January but then was ousted on Oct. 3 when Gaetz and seven other Republicans did not support McCarthy.
In the effort to get a new Speaker, the Republicans, who have a 221-212 majority in the House, met privately Thursday after Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, failed to get elected in two votes this week.
During this closed meeting, something happened between Bost and Gaetz. The question is: What?
The Daily Mail reports that “Bost was allegedly blaming Gaetz for ousting” McCarthy on Oct. 3.
Bost could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Gaetz, however, spoke to reporters as he walked down a hallway after the meeting, and was asked if Bost lunged at him.
Here’s how Gaetz described what happened:
“I think he was pretty animated. I don’t know if I would describe it as a lunge,” Gaetz said in a YouTube video posted by Forbes Breaking News.
The Daily Mail quoted Gaetz as saying that Bost had apologized to him.
There are two things Bost and Gaetz could agree on: They both said Thursday they don’t want the temporary speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-North Carolina, to be given additional powers until January, and they both said they support Jordan to be the speaker.
“I support #JordanForSpeaker. If he brings another vote to the House floor today, I’ll vote for him again. What I don’t support is a plan to extend short-term powers to a temporary Speaker,” Bost wrote Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mike Koziatek is a reporter with the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
